Climbing Mountains

"Just because you can have it all, doesn't mean there's something wrong with you until you do... You couldn't get it if you already had it. And it's the 'getting of it' that you really want, in an adventure that can only begin with wanting what you do not yet have."


That was the message I got in my Tut.com "note from the Universe" this morning. I hadn't thought about it quite that way, but it's very true. At least for me.

I've read in astrology books that Capricorns often "create" a mountain just so they have something to climb (Capricorns are goats for those of you not into astrology). Whether you believe in astrology or not (I'm not a die-hard believer myself, but I have found some truths in it), what it says about Capricorns is true about me. But I'm sure people with other signs can be the same way too.

I like to feel accomplished. I like to climb mountains -- both figuratively and literally.... well... as long as the literal mountain isn't too big...

But I've definitely noticed that I do this. I look for "mountains" in my life just so I have something to climb. Something to reach for. Something to solve.

And it's in climbing, the reaching, and the solving, that I feel good about myself. Because once I get to the top, or solve the problem, it doesn't take long for me to be looking for the next one.

Sure, I enjoy the view from the top for a while. I bask in my accomplishment of solving the problem. But then I'm ready to go again. Climb a new mountain. Anyone else do this?

                                          

So back to the quote above. Like anyone else, I can lament about the things I don't have. And wish I had them. But I couldn't feel the sense of accomplishment from getting something if I already had it to begin with.

Take money, for instance. Sure, it would be nice to already have loads and loads of money and never need to work for it. I'm sure we've all felt this way. I admit to feeling jealous at times of people who are born into wealthy families and have it all handed to them.

But think about those people. Do they feel a strong sense of accomplishment? I'm guessing not. At least not in the area of earning an income and watching their savings build on account of their own hard work. Because they haven't "accomplished" that themselves. They didn't have to do anything to get it.

The same is often true of athletes. People who are just born excellent at something often take it for granted. They haven't had to work at honing their skill and becoming good. It's the people who have worked, day after day, to improve, little by little, that generally are most grateful for where they are because they appreciate what it took to get there.

So it is with these reminders that I look at my own life. No, I'm not exactly where I want to be. Yet. No, I don't have the amount of money in the bank that I desire. Yet. But I have something to work towards. A mountain to climb. And I am climbing it. Step by step.